ALBANY >> In a telephone chat with voters Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, offered a staunch defense of immigrants crossing into the U.S. across the southwestern border, saying they are fleeing violence that is considered “the worst in the world.”

“These children, most of them, have left their home countries to escape violence, abuse or persecution,” Tonko told a caller identified only as Fila from Troy who expressed concern about “the influx of illegal immigrants and particularly of children.”

The invitation-only call-in, coming just after Congress recessed without a decision on how address the immigration crisis, was dismissed as a campaign stunt paid for with taxpayer dollars by Tonko’s GOP opponent, business owner Jim Fischer, a Saratoga County Republican. He said Tonko could better spend his time meeting voters face to face.

“The congressman is hiding behind a phone bank to take scripted calls from an invited pool of loyal voters,” Fischer said in a statement put out before the dinnertime call. “Instead, he should be making his congressional work schedule public, meeting constituents face-to-face and answering questions about the big government agenda he’s voted for over and over while serving under Nancy Pelosi. Capital Region families are making tough choices this summer, whether they can afford a family vacation, to fill the gas tank or grab a bite out to eat. While we’re paying for Paul Tonko’s summer vacation, least he could do is meet with voters in person.”

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Congress recessed on Friday for five weeks to let members return to districts to campaign for the November elections. They are due back in Washington after Labor Day.

In the call, which an aide said included 4,200 listeners, Tonko was praised and not sharply challenged by voters, including one Troy woman named Linda who identified herself as a union leader for Head Start workers. The topics included the lack of jobs in his district and the immigration crisis. He said “innovative industries” and a rollback in free trade laws are the solution to jobs. As for the children crossing the border, he said the U.S. was obliged to let in those seeking asylum.

Tonko said the “children are threatened with death if they do not sell drugs. They are threatened by the drug gangs. Others, many girls for instance, are threatened with rape and death. So they have sought asylum.”

He said the laws that allow them to seek asylum is being followed “in a very systemic way and is making sure that the letter of the law and the spirit of the law is being followed and that the values of this country, which cares about her children, cares about other children and protecting them from violence is going forth.”

Tonko ended the call by praising the callers.

“I want to be that force of communication,” he said. “I want to be that listening ear, that compassionate heart. So as we move forward, I just encourage you to foster those lines of communication.”

“Tonight you’ve proven it again – you are a very concerned and a very committed and a very involved constituency,” he added. “You have raised some potential solutions that help prioritize for us the needs out there and the ultimate solutions. So it begins with dialogue.

“You know, anything can be accomplished when we come together as a people.”